Bluetooth speakers offer a convenient, portable solution to your on-the-go sonic needs, and the best part is that they aren't usually that expensive.
We've listed our picks for the finest budget models below, all of which hover around or below £100 / $100 / AU$200 and have been put through their paces across various locations and scenarios.
The choice of speakers available in the Bluetooth market is huge, and much like wireless earbuds, plenty of poor-quality challengers are attempting to get in on the action. We've filtered out the rubbish and focused on the best speakers around, making our judgements based on hands-on comparative testing for every model below.
Our experts have put all of the featured speakers through their paces, assessing their performance when it comes to sound, build quality, features and usability.
Just because it's cheap, doesn't mean it shouldn't be extremely cheerful!
You can read more about our testing process here, or keep scrolling to see the best cheap Bluetooth speakers we'd recommend.
November 4th: We've labelled our What Hi-Fi? Award-winners for 2026, replaced the JBL Go 4 with the Go 5, and added the JBL Flip 7 instead of the outgoing Flip 6.
The quick list
I'm a Senior Staff Writer who has listened to and reviewed dozens of Bluetooth speakers during my time at What Hi-Fi?. I love a great Bluetooth speaker, especially those budget models that offer fast, hassle-free audio for the everyday consumer. I've had hands-on experience with every speaker on the list below, putting them through their paces to ensure you know exactly which one to choose. Good sound quality, durability, waterproofness, ample battery life and seamless connectivity – we've assessed them all to put you fully in the picture before buying. Most of all, we've picked models that give you proper value for money, because there's no point in offering products that don't pass muster when it comes to performance.
The best budget Bluetooth speaker overall
If your budget can't quite stretch to the larger JBL Charge 6, consider the five-star JBL Flip 7. Smaller, slimmer and less expensive, the Flip 7 still offers a great deal of what you'd want in a portable Bluetooth companion, and it often drops to £99, or even £69, during sales.
The older generation model boasted a still-impressive IP67 water- and dustproof rating, but JBL has decided to up the ante by bestowing an IP68 certificate upon this current iteration.
The Flip 7 offers a choice of either a fabric finger loop or a carabiner hook for clipping the speakers onto the likes of bags or nearby branches.
Like the Charge 6 above, the Flip 7 goes big on features. The seventh-gen Flip offers Auracast functionality, the sharing technology which lets you pair two Flip 7s together in stereo or hook up multiple units using the JBL Portable app.
The Flip 7 will grant you 14 hours on a single charge plus an extra two with Playtime Boost. The speaker also features wired listening for the first time, supporting up to 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio playback via USB-C, meaning that it should sound its absolute best when using a physical tether.
Sonically, this is the best Flip yet. It's bassier than the sixth-gen model, with a smoother, more refined profile than the more hard-edged Flip 6 can manage. Detail levels are improved, while the dynamic peaks and troughs of your music are revealed with greater scope and scale.
JBL's mighty burrito is firmly positioned as top dog, especially when it's on a discount.
Read our full JBL Flip 7 review
The best portable budget Bluetooth speaker
It may not look like much, but if you want a backpack-friendly Bluetooth speaker that won’t break the bank, Tribit Audio’s Stormbox Micro 2 is one of the best cheap models we’ve tested yet.
The small-form-factor sequel to the original Stormbox Micro doesn’t have the 360-degree grill design of many of its rivals such as the dinky UE Wonderboom 4, but during our review we found it to be well-made, easy to use and a solid performer over time.
The Micro 2's woven finish design is pretty much the same as its predecessor, yet it has small design upgrades, improved battery life and better audio quality over its predecessor.
We easily coaxed 12 hours of listening out of a single charge, whereas the unit's IP67 rating allowed us to use it in the bathroom/shower/kitchen without issue or damage. As a candidate for outdoor use then, the Stormbox Micro 2 certainly has the requisite credentials.
Audio, meanwhile, is bigger, punchier and louder than you’d expect from such a small unit, keeping up with tricky rhythms and upbeat tempos while also bringing out vocals with personality and nuance. Our listening tests showed the midrange in particular is dealt with in a much more appealing manner than practically anything else we’ve seen at this budget price point.
The Micro 2 can suffer from a little distortion at louder volumes, but realistically you’ll have to pay more and invest in a JBL Flip 6 to get better overall sound.
Read our full Tribit Audio Stormbox Micro 2 review
The best smart budget Bluetooth speaker
Let's be clear that the Echo Dot isn't a traditional Bluetooth speaker – it isn't portable and does require a plugged-in connection to the wall to work. That said, you can use Bluetooth to connect your smartphone or tablet to the Echo Dot, especially if you want to play music, qualifying it as a Bluetooth speaker, and a smart one at that.
And what a good speaker it is too. The Echo Dot (5th Generation) earns its place here thanks to its all-round excellence, solid sound and hugely attractive price tag, and while it may be cheap, nothing about the Dot feels cut-price.
Alexa voice control, meanwhile, is getting smarter by the minute, so filled to the brim with skills and knowledge that it's frankly getting a little scary. The Dot's cybernetic assistant is more helpful than ever before, stuffed with so many tricks and quirks that you'll often find yourself falling into the trap of speaking to Alexa as though "she" were a real person.
What's most impressive is how far the audio has come. We weren't that keen on the sound of Amazon's early Echo models, but continual improvement and refinement ensure that the company's “best-sounding Echo Dot yet” lives up to its billing thanks to a sound that feels surprisingly weighty, listenable and far-reaching.
For value and versatility, this Echo Dot is seriously tough to beat. Amazon added to its smart speaker range with the Echo Dot Max, but its mediocre sound means we're still recommending the Echo Dot (5th Gen) instead.
Read our full Amazon Echo Dot (5th Generation) review
The best cheap budget Bluetooth speaker
The JBL Go 5 is the best Go yet.
It's remarkable how much performance JBL has managed to wring out of what is, essentially, a soap-sized Bluetooth speaker. It's handsome, well-equipped, durable and, for a speaker of its price and size, remarkably talented in the audio department.
The Go 5 looks broadly similar to the outgoing fourth-gen version, albeit with some notable changes. The speaker’s front-mounted ‘JBL’ lettering logo has been hollowed out, so there's less of a barrier to the audio from the driver, and JBL has added on-unit lighting which you can customise and switch on/off via the JBL Portable app.
The Go 5's IP68 rating means that dust and limited submersion in water will leave no lasting damage, and the general robustness is admirable.
The feature set is equally impressive. The Go 5's 'AirTouch' trick is a fun highlight: get two fifth-gen Go speakers together, tap them end to end, and they’ll form a stereo pair without needing the app.
Auracast Bluetooth is also on hand, bringing the Go 5 in line with the current JBL Flip 7, Charge 6 and Xtreme 5 models by letting you connect multiple compatible JBL speakers under the same standard.
Battery life has also been bolstered, with the Go 5 eking out roughly eight hours of standard playtime, with two more hours via Playtime Boost. Playtime Boost will suck most of the bass from the sound, so use it as a last resort.
Playtime Boost aside, the Go 5 sounds remarkably good considering its size and price. Thanks in part to its 45mm driver and that hollow-contour logo, the fifth-gen model is the meatiest, most robust-sounding Go that we've yet heard, with a full, powerful reproduction that belies its small size.
The Go 5 doesn't try too hard and overstrain itself – instead, as our review stated, it is tuned "to have an innate understanding of how your music should sound. Nothing here is overdone or overly coloured, but it shares its bigger siblings’ ability to go with the flow as we bounce around tracks and genres".
Those talents are only heightened if you take advantage of support for 24-bit/96kHz lossless playback via USB-C, which makes your music sound clearer, crisper and more detailed than when listening via Bluetooth.
If your budget is limited, the Go 5 is our go-to recommendation – its sound-per-pound performance ratio really is outstanding.
Read our full JBL Go 5 review
If you're thinking of getting a JBL Go 4 or indeed any new JBL speaker, you might be wondering what all this talk of Auracast is. We've written a full explainer on what Auracast is, but the abridged version is that it's a Bluetooth audio-sharing technology feature that allows a source device, such as a phone or TV, to broadcast multiple audio streams to an unlimited number of audio receivers such as earbuds or Bluetooth speakers. What's exciting is that Auracast is near-limitless and not ecosystem-specific, meaning you could connect endless JBL Go 4s, for instance, or lots of JBLs to multiple other brands of wireless speakers and/or earbuds.
Also consider
Pure Classic Aura: It won't do for taking on your travels, but as a charmingly designed and sonically talented speaker that will sit happily on your kitchen work surface on the corner of your bathroom, the Classic Aura is a charming alternative to the likes of JBL and Audio Pro. Plus, it has ambient lighting!
JBL Charge 5: Possibly one of our favourite portable speakers in recent times, the Charge 5 is still scooping Awards thanks to its clear, open soundstage, supreme build quality and exceptional value. Prices are creeping down, too, so while it's slightly too costly to make its way onto the main list, the Charge 5 has to be recommended for anyone happy to spend a little extra to get a lot more speaker.
Beats Pill: The Beats Pill is back and, here's a pleasant surprise, it's actually rather good. With a clear, clean sound and some decidedly nice bass, not to mention a travel-friendly design and outstanding IP67 rating, long-term Beats fans will find it to be a worthwhile companion.
Sony ULT Field 1: The Field 1 was supposed to officially retail at £119, but Sony seems to have had an attack of generosity and dropped that figure down to £99 (sometimes £69!) where it seems to have stayed permanently. Well-furnished, very nicely made and a lot of fun to listen to, it's a very able alternative to the JBL Flip line.
How to choose the best budget Bluetooth speaker for you
Aside from something that sounds good for the money, we advise a durable design and waterproofing at this end of the market. IPX7 and IP67 (the latter meaning that on top of waterproofing, the speaker is IP-rated against dust ingress) are good numbers to look out for – and we have listed each speaker's rating. For the best portable Bluetooth speakers on a budget, these factors are essential, especially if you'll be using the speaker outdoors, on the go, or in the kitchen.
If portability is a key factor, the budget Bluetooth speakers we've recommended here are small enough to fit in a coat pocket or big enough to fill a room with serious sound. It's imperative that you also check the dimensions before clicking "buy" so you know exactly what you're getting for your needs.
Whether you want full-on portability or a speaker to move occasionally from your bedroom to the kitchen, you're sure to find something here that you – and your current budget – can truly enjoy.
How we test Bluetooth speakers
At What Hi-Fi?, we independently review hundreds of products every year, including the latest budget Bluetooth speakers hitting the market from JBL, Bose, Bang & Olufsen, Ultimate Ears and other renowned brands, plus propositions from lesser-known brands that catch our eye. So how do we come to our review verdicts – and most importantly, why should you trust them?
We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in the UK where our dedicated team of expert reviewers (who have more than 100 years of collective experience in reviewing, testing and writing about consumer electronics) thoroughly tests every product that comes our way.
Of course, with portability a priority for budget Bluetooth speakers, we make sure we spend several days putting the product through its paces in real-life, on-the-fly environments at home and in the garden (and dunk them in the kitchen sink when they're waterproof, too).
We have price-appropriate competitors and class leaders (often our benchmark What Hi-Fi? Award winners) constantly on hand to compare and contrast every product we review with similarly priced ones, and we take considerable time to ensure every aspect of a Bluetooth speaker is tested thoroughly, from its performance to its battery life to how well it can withstand most weather conditions.
Of course, sound quality is a priority here, even at budget prices, so we make sure you're getting the most out of your money. We test every speaker with a broad range of music, from pop to 90s grunge to classical and everything in between.
All verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole rather than a single reviewer, helping to ensure consistency and avoid individual subjectivity.
You can read more about how we test and review products on What Hi-Fi? here.
FAQ
What's the difference between wireless and Bluetooth speakers?
Bluetooth speakers are wireless in the sense that they don't need wires to connect to their audio source, instead using the Bluetooth streaming protocol to get connected. Nevertheless, Bluetooth speakers don't necessarily also support wi-fi, a necessary feature of what we would term "wireless speakers".
A wireless speaker can connect to audio sources via the internet (your home wi-fi, for instance) – via something like Apple AirPlay or Google Chromecast, whether or not it also has Bluetooth.
While this will all hinge on the kit you're using and your wi-fi's limitations, transmitting audio via wi-fi rather than Bluetooth comes with certain advantages: wi-fi's signal range is less limited than Bluetooth, generally facilitates better sound and can usually transmit higher-quality audio.
The standard Bluetooth codecs (AAC and SBC) aren't widely capable of transmitting CD-quality files (or higher), and even the most high-end codecs like aptX are lossy.
That said, Bluetooth-only speakers are generally more portable, as they don't rely on an internet connection or being plugged into the mains, and they're often more affordable than their wi-fi-enabled counterparts.
Why are JBL speakers so popular right now?
It's true, JBL does seem to be doing exceptional work in the portable speaker space at the moment. The Charge 6, Charge 5 Wi-Fi, Flip 7, Flip 6 and Xtreme 4 have all earned five-star ratings (and a few Awards, too) over the past few years, and that's before we even mention those models that have garnered very respectable four-star hauls.
The truth is, we can't think of a brand right now that offers the sort of value for money as JBL. Almost every member of its ever-expanding speaker family blends rugged durability with sonic clout and prowess, resulting in models that are tough, dependable and unparalleled in terms of their audio capabilities.
They also go heavy on features, offering benefits such as PartyBoost chaining and extensive app support for a more personalised, flexible experience.
That's not to say that we'd only recommend JBL models - far from it - but rather, they're something of a safe bet. JBL is on a roll, and there's no harm in taking advantage of that hot streak if you want a consummate performer at a great price.
Recent updates
November 2026: Labelled our What Hi-Fi? Award-winners for 2026, replaced the JBL Go 4 with the Go 5, added the JBL Flip 7 instead of the Flip 6.
January 2026: No new entries this early in the year, but we're looking ahead to the new models and ranges which are set to arrive in 2026.
December 2025: The Amazon Echo Dot Max had a chance to become our favourite budget smart speaker, but its middling sound means that we're still recommending the five-star Echo Dot (5th Gen). Added the Pure Classic Aura to our also consider section.
October 2025: Gave our copy another check and refresh in lieu of any new entries.
August 2025: No new entries, but we've gone through our copy to make sure everything's correct and up-to-date.
June 2025: No new updates, just a simple copy refresh to make sure everything's correct and up-to-date.
April 2025: Removed the JBL Flip 5 and added the JBL Flip 7 into our also consider section.
January 2025: We've removed the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 now that it's no longer widely available from major retailers.
December 2024: Updated copy and included references to What Hi-Fi? 2024 Award winners.
September 2024: Added the JBL Go 4 to our main list and moved the JBL Go 3 to the also consider section.
July 2024: Added new Beats Pill to the also consider section.
March 2024: Added an 'also consider' section (above) to give more choice and a top tip to help readers make more informed buying decisions.
November 2023: What Hi-Fi? Award winners labelled after the 2023 Awards Best Buys and Product of the Year announcements.
MORE:
Which JBL speaker should you buy in 2025? Charge 6, Flip 7 and more compared
Best Bluetooth speakers: portable speakers for every budget
For an alternative to Bluetooth, here are the best wireless speakers
